1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disk package which is loaded into a disk device equipped in personal computers, audio equipment, etc., and which accommodates different types of disks together, such as CD, CD-ROM, DVD and PD.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are proposed a variety of optical disk media. CD (Compact Disk) and CD-ROM (CD--Read Only Memory) are disks of pit modulation type, and CD-R (CD--Rewritable) is a disk capable of recording data once. PD (Power Disk) is a disk of phase changing type capable of recording/--playback (reproduction), and MO (Magneto-Optical Memory) and HS (Hyper Storage)-are disks of magneto-optical type capable of recording/playback. Further, as large-capacity disks used for audio, video and computer data, there are known DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disk--ROM) of pit modulation type and DVD-RAM (DVD--Random Access Memory) of phase changing type capable of recording/playback. MD (Mini Disk) is also known as a small disk of magneto-optical type capable of recording/playback which is used with audio equipment and computers.
Disk devices for driving such disks are grouped into two types. In one type, only one selected from various disks is loaded in the disk device. In the other type represented by a CD changer, for example, a plurality of disks of the same type are loaded in the disk device and one of those disks is selected and driven for playback.
Recently, there have also been proposed disk devices which include disk driving means capable of driving both CD and DVD and are adaptable for loading of both CD and DVD.
For disk devices adaptable for different types of disks, however, most devices are designed to load CD or DVD one by one therein individually and devices permitting different types of disks to be loaded therein at the same time have not yet been proposed. In particular, disk devices adaptable for simultaneous loading of both a disk exclusive to playback and a recordable disk, such as represented by a combination of CD or CD-ROM and DVD-RAM or a combination of DVD-ROM and DVD-RAM, have not been conceived. Taking into account versatile utility of optical disk media in future, i.e., versatility of computer software and an increase in capacity of demanded data, there exists a need for a disk device which permits different types of disks to be loaded therein together.
In a typical example of conventional CD changers, a plurality of drawable trays are fitted in a magazine, disks are rested on the individual trays, and one of the trays in the magazine is selected and drawn out when the magazine is loaded into a disk device. In conventional magazines, however, it is general that the trays are each just lightly held in the magazine by a spring or the like so that the trays in the magazine are prevented from slipping off in a state where the magazine is taken out of the disk device. Accordingly, if the magazine is subjected to impacts when it is held by the hand, there tends to occur a problem that the trays in the magazine may spring out of the case accidentally and disks may drop from the trays.
For disks exclusive to playback such as CD and VD-ROM or DVD-ROM, even if a finger or the like touches the reading surface of the disk positioned to face an optical head, reading accuracy is not so significantly deteriorated. For recordable disks such as DVD-RAM and PD, however, signal recording is affected by slight contamination on the disk surface. Accordingly, recordable disks are required to be handled more carefully than disks exclusive to playback. In conventional disk devices, however, no consideration is paid to protection of recordable disks.